Installing SiriusXM when not factory installed

[RyanV1977]

Thanks for the update Jay. This has been a major thorn in my side. I have to plug in or Bluetooth my phone to get the XM radio which at times forces a phone restart to play and you cannot change stations from the steering wheel....only skip songs. I am very interested in this system. You mention it plugs into your USB. Where did you mount your box? Also, do you have to mount an antenna? Are you able to use the steering wheel controls to change presets? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks for the update about this possibility. It looks like a good fix for this irritating issue.

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[jeepoch]

Thanks for the update Jay. This has been a major thorn in my side. I have to plug in or Bluetooth my phone to get the XM radio which at times forces a phone restart to play and you cannot change stations from the steering wheel....only skip songs. I am very interested in this system. You mention it plugs into your USB. Where did you mount your box? Also, do you have to mount an antenna? Are you able to use the steering wheel controls to change presets? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks for the update about this possibility. It looks like a good fix for this irritating issue.

Ryan,
The VAIS Technology kit for the JL is GSR-FC02 and requires the SiriusXM tuner SXV300 along with the satellite antenna. I mounted everything under the dash, both components are fairly small. I mounted the satellite antenna on top of the roll bar, passenger side just under the fiberglass hardtop. Exactly the same place the factory puts it.

The GRS unit simply provides a USB interface to the UConnect 3 and integrates the SiriusXM satellite radio data (channel, artist, song, genre, etc. directly onto the 5" screen. It shows up on the UConnect as an iPod. I suppose they [VAIS Tech] is emulating an Apple interface protocol.

And yes, the steering wheel left side up/down switches control the satellite channel on quick press and channel presets on long press.

The GSR supports up to 36 presets, I've set up 15. The presets I've choosen selects a group of stations by genre and I then I simply quick press up or down for the adjacent channels.

The right side steering wheel swiches control volume.

I used a right angle USB adapter to mimize the connector on the media console. I wish the JL had a hidden USB connector under the dash, but alas it does not. I didn't want to use the USB connector in the center console just to minimize the overall cabling length. See photos.

This is certainly not as sexy as the 7 or 8.4" screens, but I'm happy with the results. Almost makes the UConnect 3 something you can brag about. (Almost, well maybe, ah perhaps not, oh well.) At least I can say it works without adding some funky external SiriusXM head unit somewhere in the cockpit.

Off-roading in the high foothills (10,000 ft) in the Roosevelt National Forest just west of Boulder CO near where we live, presented no issue for the satellite signal. Never had a dropout unless driving around in a deep canyon. Can't do anything about that. Still nice to listen to music where AM/FM terestial signals are totally blocked.

Hope this helps.
Jay

 

[jeepoch]

Jacob,

Sorry for not looking up your proper first name on the previous post. Here is the web-site I discovered when browsing around looking for a solution.

https://www.vaistech.com/product-category/satellite-radio/

Before this, I too had been using my phone's SiriusXM app. I absolutely could not tolerate any solution dependent on being in range of a cell tower.

I am pretty happy with this result. If you have any other questions, just ask.

Jay

 

[RyanV1977]

Jacob,

Sorry for not looking up your proper first name on the previous post. Here is the web-site I discovered when browsing around looking for a solution.

https://www.vaistech.com/product-category/satellite-radio/

Before this, I too had been using my phone's SiriusXM app. I absolutely could not tolerate any solution dependent on being in range of a cell tower.

I am pretty happy with this result. If you have any other questions, just ask.

Jay

Thanks so much Jay! I appreciate all the info! Gonna have to order my own.

 

[RyanV1977]

Thanks so much Jay! I appreciate all the info! Gonna have to order my own.

And don’t worry... you were correct with either name. Thanks for the pics too. 70’s on 7 is one of my main Go To channels too.
Thanks again!

 

[jeepoch]

I went through this hassle as well. The dealer told me to go to Car Toys and buy an external SiriusXM tuner.

The UConnect 3 5" that came from the factory in my JL is not in any way capable of satellite connectivity. No antenna and no SiriusXM integration.

I did not want to by some ugly bolt on head unit and certainly did not want to upgrade to UConnect 4 either the 7 or 8.4" units forcing a front panel nightmare with the hvac panel. Those units have the volume and tuning knobs on the panel whereas the 5" radio, these knobs are built into the radio itself.

An upgrade from a 5" to either a 7 or 8.4" requires a lot more conversion to the Jeep than just a radio head replacement. So many other poor souls with this 5" radio are blindly going this route. They are dealing with a lot more headaches than just being forced at using the steering wheel volume and tuning buttons.

Granted, they are gaining other functionality like nav and carplay, which I for one believe are for the truly directionally challenged and therefore should have their Jeep credentials revoked, for not knowing just where they are on this planet. But I digress...

Fortunately, I found a more tightly integrated solution from VAIS Technology. They have a unit (GRS FC02 kit) that integrates a SiriusXM SXV300 tuner into the UConnect 3 5" via one of the standard USB ports.

The satellite radio then shows up as an iPod1 connection from the Media interface on the UConnect 3. The GRS has the capability to store up to 36 SiriusXM channels and they can all be controlled via either the touchscreen or steering wheel switches.

The setup of the preset channels is a little kludgy but once configured works pretty well. Nowhere near as elegant as a designed in interface via the radio presentation with the SiriusXM enabled 7 and 8.4" head units, but WAY better than replacing it with a radio that was never intended within a build without the dedicated hvac panel with the volume and tuning knobs.

While I wish I had the forethought to have ordered the rig with a cooler radio (like a JVC), unfortunately the UConnect 3 5" turned out to be a really BIG disappointment. However at least the VAIS Technology GRS-FC02 has made it a whole lot more tolerable. I now have a clean, integrated SiriusXM satellite capability within the radio that came from the factory.

Now if we can only keep this POS UChannel 3 from losing 5 minutes a month on its not so real-time clock...

A quick follow up review after nearly a year's experience with the GRS FC02 SiriusXM Satellite interface kit from VAIS Technology for the UConnect 3 5" Radio:

I chose this kit in order to keep my cockpit 'clean' with no kludgy bolt-on miniature head unit. This kit integrates the non-factory, SiriusXM SXV300 off-the-shelf satellite radio receiver directly into the pretty lame UConnect 3 dashboard radio unit.

While I really do despise the UConnect 3 for a litany of reasons, with the addition of the Satellite provided content, it became reasonably tolerable. Off-roading is always even that much more enjoyable with musical accompaniment. Granted, one can always bring along some USB Flash-based music library such as an iPod or iTune like application pre-loaded on their smart-phone, this requires some effort. Better yet, having a casual connection to remote content, including up-to-date news and weather, is always a desirable situation especially when wheeling in the boonies somewhere well outside the range of any terrestrial radio station signal.

With this fully integrated satellite solution, I've been very pleased with my cockpit audio independent of just how much I hate the UConnect 3 itself. It still loses time, over 5 minutes a month. I'm almost ready to add in some bolt on, kludgy dashboard mounted clock.

However, with about a dozen preset SXM channels that can be easily navigated with the left side steering wheel buttons, I'm never far away from finding music to match my Jeeping mood. My JL is literally an oasis that always has me looking forward to getting into it.

So while I hate the radio, I'm loving the audio it now provides. Thanks to the fully integrated satellite capability. Would highly recommend it over any upgrade option that doesn't naturally integrate with the lower-trim HVAC panel that doesn't provide the volume and tuning knobs. Controlling the radio ONLY at the steering wheel is unfortunately a non-starter. Moving over to the UConnect 4 would never be an 'upgrade' option for me just for that reason. At least this crappy UConnect 3 can still be easily manipulated by the passenger. That's very important to my wife.

So I'm clearly in a love-hate relationship with my radio. This is far better than only hating it completely. Thanks VAIS Tech.

Jay

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